Formal Mary Jane Veloso plea urged

THE Palace on Monday urged the camp of Mary Jane Veloso to formalize her plea for clemency by sending it through official channels, following the circulation of an open letter from the death row inmate seeking a presidential pardon.

“It would be better if this [appeal] will be made personally or sent directly to the President so that he could decide on it,” Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro told reporters in a news briefing in Filipino.

In an open letter, Ms. Veloso renewed her appeal for her freedom, citing her parents’ health and her desire to be with her children as the primary reasons for her plea.

She said that her family has experienced difficulties in visiting her in prison, having to travel eight to 10 hours.

Ms. Veloso was arrested in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2010 with 2.6 kilograms of heroin concealed in a suitcase, she claims that she was coerced to be a drug mule.

She was spared from death row in 2024 after Manila and Jakarta signed an agreement transferring her custody and is currently being detained in the Correctional Institute for Women in the Philippines. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking